


Birdwatching and other tree-based activities

by connyhascontrol



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lesbian AU, just something soft and gentle in trying times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:20:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23284669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/connyhascontrol/pseuds/connyhascontrol
Summary: I cannot help but notice we are sitting-in-a-tree. So, you know, maybe we could think of something to do... verb-wise. (I want us to gerund, essentially.)
Relationships: Trixie Mattel/Katya Zamolodchikova
Comments: 12
Kudos: 117
Collections: isolation creation station





	Birdwatching and other tree-based activities

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beanierose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanierose/gifts).



> This is part of a fic exchange among friends where we all picked prompts from [this list](https://sleepy-skittles.tumblr.com/post/155287327552/50-a-softer-world-prompts) and wrote a fic for each other. I had the pleasure of gifting this to [beanierose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanierose/pseuds/beanierose), who is an absolutely sunshine angel.
> 
> It's literally just something sweet to help us all through some tough times. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s just after sunset when Katya’s phone lights up with an incoming message. She picks it up from where it’s lying on the kitchen counter, and unlocks it without thinking about it. It opens up her conversation with Trixie. Her name is flanked by pink sparkly hearts that she put there herself when she entered her number into Katya’s phone six months ago when they’d become friends. Katya didn’t have emojis for anyone else in her contact list, but she couldn’t be bothered to change it, she’d answered when Bob had pointed it out with a grin. Actually, Katya likes Trixie being the only one who has them. She deserves them; she’s special.

_ Trixie _ : _ remember how I told you when I was a teenager I would climb trees barefoot and play guitar up there? _

Katya snorts. As if she could ever forget. That image is seared into her mind, and she's only waiting for the right moment to tease Trixie with it.

_ Katya: Yeah? _

Trixie has read it, but there’s no reply; she’s not even typing. So Katya does what she came into the kitchen to do: open her fridge and unhappily stare at the options in it. She meant to go grocery shopping, she really did. A jar of pickles, all the way at the back, wins over a takeout container of Chinese food that’s been there for too long. Katya pushes it to the side to get to the pickles and closes the fridge. She has fished one out with a fork and is eating it over the jar to catch the dripping brine when Trixie’s reply comes through.

_ Trixie: promise you won’t make fun of me _

_ Katya: I will do no such thing _

Again, Trixie reads it but doesn’t reply.

_ Just say whatever it is,  _ Katya adds.  _ You know plenty of embarrassing things about me _

_ Trixie: because you embarrass yourself all the time, I’m a woman of grace and dignity _

Katya snorts and almost chokes on the pickle juice.

_ Katya: Sure mama _

She has finished a second pickle by the time Trixie gives in.

_ Trixie: okay fine I’m stuck in a tree and I need you to come rescue me _

Katya blinks, reads over what she just read, and carefully sets down the jar. Then she calls Trixie to laugh at her in person.

“What do you mean, you’re stuck in a tree? Where are you?” she presses out between wheezes, and Trixie huffs at the other end.

“I’m at the park, right by our benches,” she mutters sullenly.

“Right, our benches.” Another giggle escapes Katya.  _ Their _ benches are where they meet up for lunch regularly. At first it had just been during the week, both needing to get out of the office for an hour, and the park was a fairly equal distance from both their workplaces. But then they started going there on the weekends when the weather was nice. Sometimes Trixie will even bring a blanket so they can have a real picnic.

Despite the many barf noises Katya has made over the pink gingham blanket and the food cut into bite-sized pieces, all in their cute little Tupperware containers, she looks forward to all of it. Trixie takes the time to make it nice for them. She has an attention to detail with everything she does that Katya has never had the patience for, nor has she ever cared enough, but Trixie makes her wish she did. When she and Trixie hit it off a few months ago, Katya had started making small changes to her apartment, like replacing the old threadbare pillowcases on her couch with matching black and white chevron pattern ones. When Trixie had complimented them the next time she came over, Katya had beamed with pride. 

“Are you coming to get me or not?” Trixie demands to know as Katya is already pulling her Docs on. 

“I don’t know, what would I get out of that?” she asks with a grin, grabbing her keys from the windowsill next to the door.

“Uhhh, you get me not freezing to death in a fucking  _ tree _ .”

Katya pulls her front door closed behind her as she’s still pulling on her jacket. “Alright, I’m on my way.”

She spots Trixie right away when she gets there. She had expected her to be high off the ground, but she’s sitting on a low branch, her feet dangling low enough that Katya could easily wrap her fingers around one of her ankles where they’re bare above her white and pink sneakers. She doesn’t, even though she’s tempted. 

“Are you serious? You can’t make it down from there?” she asks in lieu of a greeting.

“It’s a lot higher when you’re actually up here!” Trixie justifies herself. In the dark Katya can’t see it, but she knows Trixie is blushing. With a grin she takes a few steps backwards.

“Make some room for me.”

“What? What are you--”

Trixie doesn’t get to finish her question; Katya is already taking a running start. She pushes herself off the ground, her hands just reaching the branch Trixie is sitting on, one foot against the trunk of the tree. With a grunt and Trixie’s help she manages to pull herself up and squeeze into the narrow space between Trixie and the trunk.

“How is that going to help?” Trixie screeches right next to her, but still holds on tight to Katya’s arm while she scoots into a safe position. “You were supposed to get me down, not come up too!”

“But this way I can figure out how to get down and then help you.”

“That’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.” 

Before Katya can argue that she’s said much stupider things, Trixie shifts slightly to make more space for Katya, and the branch below them groans ominously. It makes Trixie shriek and sling her arms around Katya’s middle.

Breathlessly, Katya waits for the inevitable crack, for the rush of air through her hair as they’re falling, but it doesn’t come. Instead, she’s aware of Trixie’s warm body next to her, her arms around her waist. It leaves her no choice but to put one arm around Trixie too. She grins.

“Hello there.”

“Oh my God,” Trixie huffs but doesn’t let go. “Now? You wanna do this now?”

“Do what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Trixie doesn’t look at her, instead she stares down at the ground that Katya has to admit does look pretty far away from up here. 

“You know,  _ this _ ! You pretending you’re flirting with me.”

Katya almost loses her grip on the branch. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you!”

“What?”

She takes a deep breath, both to calm herself and to work up the courage to say what she’s about to say. “Has it occured to you that maybe I  _ am _ flirting with you?”

Trixie snorts. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Katya pulls her face back enough that she can look at Trixie’s face, not caring that it gives her a double chin.

“You think I’ve spent months flirting with you as a joke? Why would I do that?”

Trixie shrugs, and Katya feels it more than she sees it. 

“I don’t know, maybe not as a joke, but you flirt with everyone. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Katya can feel her face fall at Trixie’s words. “Who?”

“Hm?”

“Who do I flirt with?”

Trixie shrugs again. “I don’t know, it doesn’t matter.”

“No, it does! Who do I flirt with?” Katya repeats.

Now Trixie looks at her, her face somewhere between annoyed, embarrassed, and sad. “Violet.”

Katya laughs and it makes the branch underneath them wobble. “No, I don’t.”

“Yes you did! At the party!” Trixie insists, frowning at Katya. Her arms are still warm and solid around Katya’s middle. 

“The party! Where we  _ met _ ? That was almost a year ago and you didn’t even like me then.”

At that party Bob introduced them in a way that was very clearly a setup, not helped by the fact that Katya did in fact flirt with Violet (but with her it really didn’t mean anything) and that Trixie wouldn’t talk to her. 

“That’s not true, I liked you.”

“You just replied  _ uh-huh  _ to everything I said, and then left to get drunk with Shea on the patio.”

Trixie’s voice is very small as she says, “I thought you were too pretty to be an interesting person.”

Katya laughs incredulously again, her wheeze turning into a cough. Trixie’s expression turns more and more sour and Katya knows she needs to do something to keep Trixie from being mad at her.

“That’s ridiculous! You’re the prettiest and the most interesting person I know.”

Trixie opens her mouth, and then closes it again. Katya has never held back, but she’s never put her cards on the table quite so openly before. They eventually became friends because Katya couldn’t let it go. She knew Trixie and her would have something special if only Trixie gave them a chance. When she finally did, they went from not talking to being best friends within two weeks. 

Katya was already thrilled with that, but she had still been hoping Trixie would see her in a different light. Her constant flirting had been met with anything from eye rolls to blushing and giggling, so she had kept it up, assuming Trixie was just taking things very slowly. Hearing that Trixie thought she didn’t mean it breaks Katya’s heart, more for Trixie than for herself.

“So, like…” Trixie starts haltingly, “what does that mean?”

Katya wants to poke Trixie in the side and ask what she thinks it means. But Trixie is looking at her with her dark eyes wide, her expression unsure. 

“It means that I like you,” she answers with her voice calm but a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. 

She doesn’t know if Trixie likes her back, and it almost doesn’t matter. She just needs Trixie to know that she’s a person who deserves being flirted with. Specifically by Katya. And Trixie did say she always thought Katya was pretty, so maybe her chances aren’t terrible.

“You like me,” Trixie repeats, her voice giving away no emotion.

“Of course I like you, you bitch!” This time it’s Katya who shrieks. “I’m here, aren’t I? Sitting in a tree with you.” She gasps and with her hand that’s still resting on Trixie’s shoulder she squeezes twice. “Oh my God!”

“What?” Trixie asks, clearly startled by Katya’s sudden outburst.

“We’re sitting in a tree!” Trixie just stares at her. “ _ Sitting-in-a-tree,”  _ Katya sing-songs, and dissolves in wheezing laughter before she’s even done. Trixie doesn’t join in. In fact, Katya has rarely ever seen her this quiet, and she curses herself for even bringing it up. 

The good thing about the flirting was that there was nothing required of Trixie. And in a way Katya still doesn’t need her to do anything. Trixie  _ knows _ now. It’s about saying it, not the reply. But by bringing up that stupid rhyme Katya is making Trixie say yes or no.

“You know, there are lots of things we could do in a tree,” Katya backtracks.

Trixie snorts. “Yeah? Like what?”

“Birdwatching,” Katya answers immediately, and Trixie openly laughs at her.

“At night?”

“Just because they’re sleeping doesn’t mean we can’t watch them.” Trixie laughs again, and Katya can feel the vibrations of it in her own chest.

“What else?”

“Uhhhh… build a tree house?” Katya offers after a moment. “In case we don’t find a way down, and have to live up here from now on.”

“Sure,” Trixie says with a smile, her face soft and round and so close to Katya’s. “What else?” she asks again. Katya can feel Trixie’s breath on her skin, and it doesn’t help her trying to come up with anything else.

“I got nothing,” she admits quietly.

Trixie’s smile gets wider. “I can think of at least one more.”

“Yeah?”

“ _ K-I-S-S-I-N-G _ ,” Trixie sings quietly, her smile splitting into a wide grin, and then her lips are on Katya’s. 

It’s uncoordinated and toothy with how much they’re both grinning. Katya has had many kisses in her life, some great, some mediocre, but none as joyful as the one she shares with Trixie in a tree while her fingers get cold and her butt goes numb. 

When they break apart, they’re holding on to each other more than they are holding on to the tree.

“I like you too,” Trixie says close to Katya’s lips, and Katya can’t help but swing her legs in excitement. It’s enough to almost tip them over, but she manages to firmly grip the branch at the last moment. After they’ve found their balance again, it takes some careful rearranging for Katya to be able to cup Trixie’s face in both hands. Trixie hasn’t let go of her; she’s winding her fingers into Katya’s shirt underneath her denim jacket, and Katya can feel the pressure of her fingertips against her skin. 

“Are you sure?” Katya knows Trixie wouldn’t have kissed her if she wasn’t, but she wants to hear it again.

“Yes!” Trixie laughs, not out of amusement but joy and relief, Katya is sure. She feels it too, and she leans in to kiss Trixie again. Their second kiss is gentler, slower, and with a soft sigh Trixie opens up to the delicate pressure of Katya’s tongue. 

The excitement Katya was feeling just a minute ago yields to a serenity that she’s not familiar with. She’s used to never sitting still, always making plans. Her perpetual restlessness usually goes well with Trixie’s natural ambition. She always gives Katya something more to do, new to see, or exciting to try. For the first time in years Katya feels like she found what she’s been looking for. Kissing Trixie feels like coming home. 

Except that it is getting cold, her butt hurts, and she can imagine much nicer places to be kissing Trixie.

“So, explain to me again why you had to climb this tree?” Katya asks with her expression as neutral as she can manage.

"I needed to think."

"Ah, of course.” Katya nods sagely. “It's your thinkin' tree."

Trixie briefly lets go off her waist to push her. "Shut up!" she shrieks. "No, but when I was young I'd grab my guitar, find a tree, and work through whatever was on my mind." Her arms come around Katya again, and her head settles on Katya's shoulder.

"And what's on your mind that requires tree assistance?" Katya asks, softly this time.

"You." Trixie's tone is matter-of-fact. "I needed to figure out what to do about the dumb crush I have on my best friend."

Katya bites down on her lip, but it does nothing to stop her from grinning. "You have a crush on me."

"Yeah. Duh," Trixie snorts. 

"Well, in a way the tree did actually solve that problem," Katya admits. "You country-ass bitch," she adds softly, and Trixie laughs.

"Not as country as I used to be, or I'd have managed to get down."

"Right!" Katya says too loudly. "That's why I'm here. Let's get us down, then."

Trixie only reluctantly lets go off her, and Katya makes her scoot down the branch a little further so she doesn't accidentally take Trixie with her when she jumps down.

The drop is further than she thought it would be. Katya feels the impact in her knees, and for a moment she thinks she’s going to stumble and fall, but then she regains her balance.

“See? Easy!”

Trixie doesn’t look convinced. “Sure, if you’re a slender and willowy wood nymph.” 

“Just jump down, you big baby,” Katya calls up to Trixie, and stretches her arms out in front of her. “I’ll catch you!”

Trixie snorts. “I’ll flatten you like a pancake.”

“If getting crushed by a big bossy blonde is how I’m gonna go, I’ll happily accept my fate.” 

In the dark, Katya can just see Trixie's smile, and how it quickly turns into an expression of pure concentration. She has both hands firmly on the branch as she slowly pushes herself forward until her butt is just about to slide off.

"Okay." She takes a deep breath. "Seriously though, catch me!"

She lets herself slide off the branch, and then her entire weight hits Katya. They go down together in a heap of flailing limbs. On top of her, Trixie pushes herself up with both arms, looking alarmed.

"Are you okay?"

Katya breathes through the pain of Trixie’s elbow having dug into her ribcage on impact.

“I think a kiss would make me feel better.”

The concern on Trixie’s face melts away into something softer, and when she leans down, her hair falls around both their faces. For a moment Katya lives in a tiny, dark, warm world that consists of only her and Trixie kissing, and she opens her eyes only reluctantly when Trixie rolls all the way off her.

Trixie brushes her hair out of her face, and smiles, looking uncertain.

“So… what do we do now?”

“Getting up would be a good start,” Katya says when the cold from the grass underneath her starts seeping through her jeans. She stands as quickly and gracefully as she can manage and holds her hands out to Trixie. She takes them with a smile, and lets Katya pull her up. Once they’re both upright, she doesn’t let go. 

“I was thinking more, like, what do  _ we _ do now?”

"I know." Katya squeezes her hands. "What would you like to do? And can it involve food? Because I'm hungry."

"Alright, then let me treat you to dinner." Trixie grins, looking as elated as Katya feels. "It's the least I can do after you rescued me."

They pat themselves down making sure no keys or phones got lost during their spontaneous climbing tour, Trixie still holding on to one of Katya's hands. Before they leave, Katya turns to the tree and gives it a little wave.

"Thanks, tree! Bye, tree!"

Trixie doesn't make fun of her, as Katya had expected. Instead, she looks at Katya with fondness, and brings her hand up to her mouth to kiss the knuckles.

"I think it's time we find some other places where we can kiss."

Katya hums happily in reply. In her mind there's a list unfolding of all the places where she's thought about kissing Trixie. It's a long list; she's thought about it a lot, but she has a feeling they'll come back here. Next time, maybe they can skip the climbing part and go straight for the kissing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I would love to hear what you thought, comments here and messages on tumblr ([@connyhascontrol](https://connyhascontrol.tumblr.com/)) are always appreciated!


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